Kelsey Waldon
'White Noise/White Lines' is already Kelsey Waldon's third record in five years time. The Kentuckian country singer has followed her own path since the start. And the cheers of her friends, colleagues and music journalists were noticeable, even from this side of the ocean, when she signed to John Prine's label Oh Boy Records for her third record. I was cheering too, when we arranged this session in Amsterdam last February, where Waldon covered John Anderson and Townes van Zandt. Watch those covers and 'Kentucky, 1988' and read what her friends and colleagues Michaela Anne and Caroline Spence wrote about her.
Mikaela Davis
Mikaela Davis is a harpist and singer from Rochester New York, USA. She released a stunning record called Delivery in 2018. And she’s toured with The Staves and Bon Iver and played in Grateful Dead founder Bob Weir’s band. For The Influences she recorded covers of Gillian Welch and Cass McCombs, and her own 'In My Groove'.
“I think we’re always getting better. Over the years I’ve actually learned to play less. Sometimes simpler is better. Especially after getting into Neil Young, and realizing a song can just be one chord to four chords, and it can still be brilliant. You have to do what’s right for the song.”
Alela Diane
The first time I heard Alela Diane was live at the Motel Mozaique festival in Rotterdam, back in 2008. 'The Pirate’s Gospel' got a European release in 2007. Here was this folk singer, encompassing everything I love about traditional folk music in modern day folk songs, sung with her brilliant voice. Her latest record 'Cusp' had a similar effect on me. For this she ‘locked’ herself up for three weeks in a cabin surrounded by snow, with nothing but a wood stove, her guitar and a piano. I guess we should be asking her for tips on how to make it through these times of self-isolation and social distancing. Instead we talked – back in 2019 – about the power of traditional songs and motherhood in this complicated world.
Job Roggeveen
Job Roggeveen is an interesting and versatile artist. As a musician he played in several bands and started his own band Happy Camper, winning an Edison. As an animator, and one third of animation company Job Joris & Marieke, he was nominated for an Oscar and won an Emmy. In the last year, he focused (musically) on his solo project: instrumental piano music, resulting in the record 'Gliese' that was released last week. Earlier this winter, we met at the Dom square in Utrecht and filmed a session in the freezing cold, accompanied by visuals from Mr. Beam. Roggeveen covered Röyksopp, Massive Attack and Wu-Tang Clan.
Robert Ellis
I have so many fond memories of the first session Robert Ellis recorded for The Influences years ago, I jumped at the change to do it again. In the fall of 2019, Ellis and guitarist Kelly Doyle joined me in Job Roggeveen’s living room in Utrecht and recorded impromptu covers of Joni Mitchell and Gene Wilder’s 'Pure Imagination', and 'Let Me In' from his latest record 'Texas Piano Man'.
Farmer & Lewis
Some time in the Spring of 2017 I flew to Glasgow Scotland to film Ryan Joseph Burns' album launch. That night in Saint Luke's, I single-handedly filmed with six cameras. To compensate, I got up (too) early the next morning and met up with Farmer & Lewis to film at the viewing platform of The Lighthouse museum. With just one mic, one camera, a banjo, a fiddle and a stunning view of Glasgow's city center. Eight years after the first time I filmed at the same spot, we recorded three traditional songs.
